“But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful,” WB Yeats
Swans swim,
in synchronized,
silhouettes.
Mama delicately rolls her precious eggs,
to keep them evenly warm,
and plucks her feathers to tuck them in.
Black swan,
slides in singular grace,
while Narcissus is bewitched by his own reflection.
Cheers to you from European swans in springtime~
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Adore these pics.
Makes me happy that you do!
🙂
Cindy, the detail here is fabulous! Thank you for showing us these graceful birds up close and personal. Isn’t Nature grand?!?
Thank you Debbie & yes, Mother Nature rocks!
I like the use of Yeats’ writing to go with your lovely photos here, Cindy! My mind is drifting now too ♥
Oh good! Drifting is excellent for your mind & body.
Your photos are always so good.. beautiful
Ahhh, thank you, and so are yours!
Beautiful Pictures, Cindy
Muchas gracias mi amiga! <3
Incredible photography, Cindy!
Awww, thank you Terri!
Gorgeous! Did you know black swans are native to Oz?
Alison
I did. Although I never saw them there which is yet another reason I need to return in 2018!
Go to Canberra – they live on the lake there.
I will. Thanks for the tip! Can you recommend any other good birding places?
Oh I don’t know, probably everywhere 🙂
Actually in Port Douglas (way north in QLD) thousands of Lorikeets roost in the trees in the middle of the main street every night. Anywhere away from the cities there’ll be flocks of different parrots, and of course huge flocks of cockatoos, galahs, rosellas, etc live in Canberra.
Pure and absolute heaven! I can’t wait to return.
Your brilliant photography highlights the grace and beauty of these exquisite creatures, Cindy. Imagine their surprise and joy upon seeing your lovely photos for the first time when they return to our Creator 🙂 💕
How wonderful to imagine! Thank you dear Tina~ <3
The curve of their neck is so gracious. When the two look at the opposite way and close (your second picture), the curving necks and heads look so beautiful.
Thank you for your perceptiveness. They are the most elegant creatures.
Reblogged this on Random Ramblings; Myriad Musings and commented:
Lovely swans, beautifully captured! The black swan is exceptionally striking, with that reddish beak. Black and red – my favourite colour combination!
😎
It is a beautiful and striking color combination, I agree with you, and I can see why it is your favorite. Thank you for your thoughtful friendship & cheers to you. <3
Nice angles, especially that second shot. Sometimes I wonder why Europe gets all the graceful swans, but we mostly get geese.
Laughing……there must be some message there! 😉 😉
Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Off for a day of creativity (might be a little bit of compostition in the sunshine!) So will leave you with the beauty of swans courtesy of the fabulous photography of Cindy Knoke. Accompanied by some lovely words. #recommended
Composition in the sunshine sounds like perfection. Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Thank you dear friend and be well always~ <3
Thank you Cindy.. celebrating finishing that particular project.. just the final editing to do.. thanks for more stunning photos ♥
<3 <3
You never cease to amaze me with the beautiful photos that you capture, Cindy. The details are stunning and you manage to get such character into them as well. 🙂
You are very kind Judy and most appreciated too! Thank you~ <3
My pleasure, Cindy 🙂
<3
Amazing captures! So very graceful, Cindy.
And, you captured the eggs, unbelievable…
I fell in love with Mama swan. She was such a good mama! <3
Cheers to having the equipment to zoom in on Mama Swan. 🙂
She let me get really close too. She got used to me. I never even got close to full zoom with her. She was very proud of her eggs!
Must have been your pleasant aura.
Laughing, more likely a people habituated swan…..
Beautiful!
Thank you very much!
Fantastic Cindy! How did you get so close to the nest? 🙂
Mama was very proud and wanted to show me her eggs! I visited over three days, and each time she stood up to show me them! She was awesome!
Wow, you have such a wonderful connection with wildlife. 🙂
Excellent set.
My favourite is the first picture…
…I like how you froze the droplets there.
It was so nice of the swans to set that photo up for me! 😉
Yes. It was.
<3
Beautiful photos! Such graceful creatures, but I didn’t know there were black swans.
They are rare outside of their native Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.
Amazing
Merci beaucoup mon ami!
Wow just wow! BEAUTIFUL!
So pleased you enjoyed these beauties and thank you for taking the time to tell me!
Okay, I couldn’t remember whether I’d left a comment. Scrolling through your comments is a treasure chest that’s filled with golden coins. I gave up looking for the one with my head on it.
OMG! What grace and beauty you’ve captured. The forms, the eggs…. oh I adore the eggs!
If I was as gorgeous as Narcissus, I’d be looking at my reflection as well. Right now, I’m into the vaseline on the lens! 😀 😀
Laughing. So funny. I relate fully to he vaseline! Narcissus reminds of people who are obsessed with selfies and post photo after photo of themselves on facebook. It seems almost like they want to convince themselves they really exist. Maybe that was what Narcissus was doing, trying to prove his existence. I should have given him the photo. He could post it on his swan facebook page!
Hahaha! I knew swans and ducks had FB pages!
So self involved of them…….
Swans are amazing creatures Cindy and your photos give them the right honor 🙂
Ahhh, I am so glad! Thank you Irene~
Wild fowl (only slightly miffed really)
Seeks similar for walks in the park, days on the river and generally swanning about.
Must have gosh and ch. No chickens.
Replies as message in a bottle.
😀
I just tossed my message in the Holler crick. I am expecting a reply forthwith, and getting my ensemble together to go swanning about.
You’re daft you are. You wouldn’t catch me talking like that. 😀 Have a nice swan about. \…(‘)<
😉
These pictures are gorgeous, Cindy! What a privilege to have been in their company! Thanks for sharing.
You would have fallen in love with mama swan, just as I did! <3
Nice♥
Thanks much & cheers!
Your usual well composed and interesting photos Cindy
Thanks much Diana & cheers to you~
Herzlichen Dank für die tollen Aufnahmen Cindy ! Liebe Grüsse Ernst
Gruß dir, lieber Ernst! Danke für deine Freundlichkeit und hast ein wundervolles Wochenende mein Freund~
A peaceful post, enjoyed with much thanks, Cindy~~
Visa versa 2UX2! Love all your posts~
These pictures are a study in timeless beauty.
Ahh, such a lovely comment. Thank you for your kindness~
AH, CINDY! SUCH LOVELY STORYTELLING SHOTS!
I am very happy you enjoyed these guys Cynthia and Happy Saturday my friend~
So georgous !
Honored. Thank you.
Exquisite shots, Cindy. Love the story you’ve told.
Ahhh, humbled and honored! Thank you~
Love love love.
Sweetheart! <3
Our ducks are broody too. Looks like Monet painted the background second-to-last photo. 🎨
– Oscar
Monet rocked it didn’t he. His painting almost look to be true, but they are!
Hi Cindy! I could watch these all day. Gorgeous creatures and there’s an air of mystery about them. <3
Mystery, detachment and grace. Winning combination. I could watch them all day too! <3
So love the Swan with her eggs as she carefully turns them.. Beautiful images as are all your photo’s Cindy.. <3 Enjoy your weekend
You too my friend and thank you for the lovely comment! <3
💚
So beautiful, as all of your work is… <3
This is beautiful!…
Very pleased you enjoyed them & cheers to you!
A super good brand new week to you too!
<3 <3 <3
too pretty those swans! I love them so much! pretty animals. Thank you for posting!
We seem to love the same things. How nice is that!
you won’t believe how many people in the world are thinking the same things and have the same crave. amazing!
If we all united, we would be a powerful force for change.
very true! and word press is a fantastic platform that connects people in from a distance with good understanding of communications. I am enjoying every steps of the way with word press.
It is true. They have created a wonderful, world-wide, connecting force. I need to remember that when I grouse about WP glitches.
I like the way they seem to care about each other. I enjoy when you start a story and create interesting ways to picture the stork families “together time.” 🙂 🙂
Happy Friday to you dear Robin & thank you for your thoughtfulness~ <3
They are stunning. Perfect
Your kindness is most appreciated~
Mute swans are among my favourite birds and having photographed them myself, I know how skillfully these pictures were captured!
What a lovely thing to say! Thank you & cheers to you~
You are welcome!
<3